Yesss, they can thrive in bright light

With Monstera, in general, the more light the better. The heater thing really depends. I have plants right above radiators and they’re not bothered but they do dry out quicker so have to be watered often.

Some plants aren’t bothered, some hate to be near heat. I would avoid putting plants near heaters if possible, but you can always try it and see how it does.

The whole borsigiana/deliciosa thing is a bit of a minefield. I don’t think there’s THAT much of a difference when they’re grown as a house plant.

Sure, the nodes may be further apart due to genetics but it’s likely that the lower levels of light have also caused the internodal spacing to increase. You’ll also find that those MASSIVE fenestrated leaves that deliciosa have are unlikely to occur inside a regular house. There’s not enough light to make it worth the plants time. Borsigiana still get pretty huge leaves over time and will develop beautiful fenestrations.

For every post that proves there’s a difference between the two plants, there’s another that claims that they’re the same plant at a different life stage. My borsigiana has developed a wavy geniculum (the bit that attaches the leaf to the petiole) that apparently only occurs on deliciosa.

What I’m trying to say is that whilst you don’t have the plant you ideally wanted, you’re unlikely to be able to grow a deliciosa to its full potential anyway (unless you spend a fortune on fancy grow lights). As long as you paid Borsigiana prices rather than deliciosa prices, I’d concentrate on helping your borsigiana grow big and beautiful.

They’re super invasive in a few countries – I think it’s the light they get (from growing in more exposed areas than they would get in the denser rainforests they hail from) that leads to those enormous leaves.

I’ve seen people on Reddit taking cuttings from variegated monstera growing wild. I think they’re pretty common in hawaii!

Also glad you mentioned how they grow in the wild. I live on the east coast of Australia and was on a bush walk recently, came across a heap of bamboo and just inside there were loads of monstera growing. First I had seen in the wild. One was climbing half way up a tree. The leaves were crazy big. Couldn’t believe my eyes. May go back there one day and take a couple of cuttings. Should have taken some photos.

Yeah, poke a couple of holes in the bottom to allow the water to drain through.

As for the leaning, you have a couple of options (or do both). I would loosen the soil from the roots and see if you can set it straighter. It doesn’t matter if the roots are all to one side – they’ll fill out. You could also try staking it to a moss pole, but be careful not to snap the stem – attach the stem not the petioles (the bit that joins the leaf to the stem).

I’d go for a combined approach – take the plant out, put the moss pole in, position the plant the way you like, then attach the stem to the pole and pack the soil around it.

Monstera are usually pretty chill about being manhandled, so I’m sure it won’t mind the upheaval!